The industry of concrete and concrete maintenance is one of the biggest industries in the United States. Anyone that disagrees is foolish and needs to just look at their surroundings for strong evidence. However, most people know very little about concrete as a material and the concrete maintenance industry. So here are some facts and information about this line of work.
In the year of 1909, the very first concrete road was built in the city of Detroit. This one-mile long concrete road cost nearly $13,392.83. Since then, concrete maintenance has improved but still has a long way to go!
The typical compressive strength of concrete ranges from 3,000 to 7,000 psi. Concrete is a mix of 60% to 65% aggregates which includes crushed stone, gravel, sand, 15% to 20% water, and 10% to 20% cement. Here are some reasons why the concrete maintenance industry is so important.
The Concrete Industry Provides A Large Number of Jobs
The industry of concrete and concrete maintenance is a serious source of jobs for a lot of Americans. As of the year of 2017, the United States paving industry employed nearly 284,626 people at over 195,000 businesses. So all of these people and businesses rely on concrete maintenance to live their lives and to support their families.
A recent study has revealed that nearly 30% of all interstate highways across the country are paved with concrete. This is one of the real reasons why this industry employs so many workers, there is a high demand for their work! In just the year of 2017, the paving industry in the United States brought in $36 billion.
Better Concrete Is Better For All Drivers
Anyone that lives in an area with bad roads knows just how awful it is to drive on uneven and torn up roads. That is why working to maintain and preserve cement is so important. So as a result, it is obviously imperative to get the most out of the concrete maintenance process.
Seal coating, sealing concrete cracks, and restriping the roads is a serious job that needs to be taken care of to protect the average Americans vehicle as they drive to and from work. The Road Information Program estimates that roads with poor conditions cost drivers $400 per vehicle every year. Drivers should not have to dish out their paychecks to fix a vehicle because they had to deal with horrific looking roads.
Smoother pavement extends pavement life between 10% and 25%. Sweden conducted a study that showed vehicles driving on smooth roads use 10% less fuel than those on rough roads. So there are plenty of reasons to treat the roads well and to constantly smooth it out to not just preserve people’s vehicles but to also preserve the value of the road itself as well!
In Conclusion
Every single year the changing weather does damage to the road because of the contracting and expanding of the materials involved. Thus, it is so important to make sure roads are in good condition because this is something that people pay taxes for!